Sanctum
by Sariasprincy
Summary: Their relationship is a mystery; no one in the Akatsuki knows about it. When they're alone, they're in their sanctuary-their sanctum-and no one else is allowed there. One-shot PeiKon Pein x Konan


**EDIT: Nothing was really changed in the story besides me making a lot of spelling and grammar errors!**

**(A/N: So lately I've taken an odd fascination to Pein and Konan Konan especially so I decided to write a one-shot on them. And yes, please note THIS IS A ONE-SHOT ONLY!! **

**So yeah, please enjoy it. I know it's really different than what I usually write, but of well. I hope you all like it anyways! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto and other characters!!  
**

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**Sanctum**

Silent footsteps echoed soundlessly through the halls. Lit torches framed the walls were the only source of light as they flickered back and forth, searching for oxygen in any direction to keep living, as a quiet figure made her way down the corridor.

She was the only female Akatsuki member: Konan. Her dark and superior aura gave her away, plus the white origami flower and lip ring were also helpful suggestions of who she was. But though she remained emotionless, she changed when battle arose. She was much like the flames decorating the halls: fierce, captivating, and dangerous.

A quiet and sharp intake of breath was the only sound heard for a moment as Konan's cloak rubbed against the bone-deep cut on her right shoulder. She tried to calm her body into ignoring the pain on her right side, but so far her forced breathing wasn't helping much. An unexpected attack caused by a kunai knife had inflicted the injury on her once-flawless body, but she had to hide the pain anyways. She was Konan of the Akatsuki, Pein's partner; such feelings didn't exist.

Soft murmuring suddenly reached her pierced ears as she drew closer to her destination. Immediately, Konan realized that Pein must've called a meeting while she was away on her solo mission.

Silently, the konoichi approached the large oak doors at the end of the hallway and brushed a strand of blue hair out of her eyes with her good arm. Another soft sigh escaped her lips before she placed a pale hand on one of the great doors and pushed it open. A loud, unpleasant groan emitted out of the old hinges and bounced around the hallways and into the room where the Akatsuki were having their conference.

The deep noise immediately caught everyone's attention and all eyes turned to the female member of the organization.

Once the sound waves are ceased, Konan stepped further into the room, letting the door behind her close by itself with a quiet bang. The konoichi stopped halfway into the room as she let her icy blue eyes get accustom to the darker lighting, but all the while she felt many pairs of eyes upon her form.

When her eyes finally adjusted, she recognized everything immediately. The rectangular, dark cherry table in the middle of the room was occupied with all Akatsuki members, minus her. The seat on Konan's left held Itachi followed by Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori, and on her right held Zetsu, Tobi, Kakuzu, and Hidan. It was a rule that all members sit next to their respected partners.

At the head of the table, across from Konan's spot, was the leader of the Akatsuki: Pein. He sat up straight with an air of authority over all the members. His auburn hair was turned dark while his beautiful dim eyes were turned black from the lighting in the room. There was no reason to wonder why everyone feared him; he looked dangerous.

But that was all a matter of perspective; Konan only saw a leader doing his job of keeping his members in place and keeping his dream alive. Too bad no one else saw that.

Slowly, Konan met Pein's gaze and they shared a connection for a moment before he spoke: "Did you finish successfully?"

"Hai," Konan answered in a soft monotonous voice. She approached the end of the table and pulled out a scroll before she placed it on the smooth, dark surface and slid it across the table to her partner.

All eyes traced the blue and black scroll while it drifted passed them and when it finally stopped in front of Pein, he stared at it for a moment before he picked it up. Silently, he unraveled it and read over its contents before he rolled it up once more and made eye contact with Konan. "Are you sure this information is correct?"

A fragment of anger flared up at the question, but the konoichi quickly pushed it down before anyone could notice. "Hai," she replied monotonously.

"Hm…" Pein muttered, as he leaned back in his chair to think. "Then that means that the Shichibi will be heading toward the Village Hidden in the Rocks tomorrow. We need to strike before she gets there." His eyes trailed over the shinobi around the table before they landed on Sasori and Deidara. "You two will get the seven-tailed beast. She's the most cunning, but seeing as Itachi and Kisame are still after the Kyuubi, you're assigned this Jinchūriki. Everyone else will resume their objective of getting the beast already appointed to them."

A rippled chorus of agreement echoed softly inside the room before Pein dismissed the members. The muffled shuffling of chairs filled Konan's ears as she stood in place, knowing Pein would want to speak with her in private. Murmuring began between a few members and as Tobi passed Konan, he accidentally bumped her injured shoulder.

"Ah, Konan-sempai, Tobi is sorry!" he said, in a loud voice that caught everyone's attention.

Once more, she felt everyone's eyes on her, but she hardly took notice of it as the wound in her arm began to throb painfully, making her clench her jaw firmly as to not gasp out in pain.

Kisame and Deidara stopped to see the commotion, but immediately stopped walking again when they saw Konan's gaze. They must've interpreted her expression wrong because they left quickly. Apparently her gaze didn't look painful, it look angry, which she preferred. She'd rather look mad than hurt.

"Tobi is sorry!" the orange-masked nin said, as he shrunk next to her.

"Hn," Konan managed to get out, before she turned her attention away from him and to Hidan and Kakuzu who were oblivious to what had happened. They appeared to be busy making a bet.

"C'mon Tobi," Sasori said, as he grabbed the energetic male by the arm and slightly dragged him toward the door.

Once the oak doors had finally closed and all murmuring and footsteps had been silenced, Pein spoke: "You're injured."

Konan's eyes widened slightly for a fraction of a second before she reclaimed her calm state. "I'm fine."

"What happened?" he asked, obviously not believing her.

"Nothing," she lied in her normal, cool, collected voice.

His eyes fixed themselves intently on her before he spoke with an even voice: "Konan."

A soft sigh escaped her lips. He would never let her get away with anything; it always had to be his way. But she expected it; he was the leader of the Akatsuki after all. "I let my guard down," Konan answered him. "I made a stupid mistake and I paid the price."

Pein was quiet for a moment as he gave her an even stare. "Come here."

After a moment's hesitation, Konan replied by slowly walking toward him as her feet walked at the same rhythm as her throbbing shoulder wound. Her icy blue eyes were fixed only on her partner as she approached his resting position.

Once she was next to him, he pushed his chair away from the table, gesturing for her to sit on it.

Konan kept their eye contact as she stepped in front of him and slipped onto the polished wood. Slowly, his hands reached up to the hem of her cloak and he began unbuttoning it from the collar down. As Pein worked, Konan began to reveal her plain, black tank top. It revealed her perfectly developed chest and a slight bit of mid-drift, but Pein seemed to be paying little-if any-attention to it.

Once all the buttons were undone, the Akatsuki leader raised his hands back to her shoulders to push the cloak off her well-formed figure to reveal her bone-deep injury.

Konan watched his eyes and it took her a moment to realize he wasn't inspecting her injury. "Pein?" she murmured.

He didn't reply, but his right hand raised itself to the back of her neck and traced itself around the chain of the necklace she always wore. His hand stopped when it reached the line of her tank top where the necklace disappeared, but after a second, he grabbed both sides of the chain and pulled the object connected to the gold chain out of her shirt.

Pein's dark eyes looked over the object for a moment before he clasped the object in his hand. "I haven't seen this in a while," he murmured. "I had forgotten you had it."

Konan followed his gaze down to the object and her blue eyes took in the gold ring he had given her when they were children; she had almost forgotten she had it too. "I always wear it," she murmured back to him.

"Hm…" he mumbled, before he let go of the ring and stood up. Konan watched as he disappeared through a smaller door that led to another room.

In the meantime, she examined her injury for the first time and grimaced. She hadn't realized how bad it looked and surprise hit her when she saw how little it had bled. Carefully, Konan picked up her cloak and turned the sleeve inside out to see it had in fact bled a lot.

A small frown appeared on her face before a soft sigh escaped her lips; she was going to have to wash this soon if she wanted to get most of the blood out.

Her attention turned to her right side when a small clank was heard on the table; Pein had returned with a small medical kit.

Konan watched his fingers gently grab the sides of the lid before he opened it. His fingertips lingered on the sides as his eyes searched for what he wanted and, after a moment, he picked up a disinfectant wipe.

Pein opened the package and he grabbed her arm gently as he began cleaning the blood that had fallen down her arm. He slowly worked his way up, not leaving behind any traces of the red substance. His gesture made a small smile formed on Konan's lips, but it was barely visible.

This was their sanctuary. When they were alone, it was like they were the only people in the world. Their relationship was kept hidden from the rest of the Akatsuki and it was the only time Pein ever showed any emotion, even if it was only a little.

Konan over time had learned that he only showed his thoughts and feelings in small, simple gestures or acts, much like he was doing right now as he caressed the underside of her arm with his free hand.

Slowly, Pein's caressing hand worked his way up to her upper arm, where he grabbed it in a firm, but gentle hold. Konan looked down at her injury in time to see him begin cleaning it.

A sharp jolt started at the wound and made its way down her to fingertips as the chemicals in the disinfectant cloth touch the cut. Konan looked away and flinched lightly as she clenched her teeth together and held her breath.

Immediately Pein stopped and waited. Konan let the pain ebb slightly before she released her breath and relaxed her body once more. He side glanced at her, as if asking her if she was alright, and she gave him a slight nod without looking at him.

After a few more wipes of the cloth, Pein disposed of it before he grabbed some stitches and a needle. Konan slowly glanced away and concentrated on the seat Pein was sitting on earlier. She began searching her mind for anything to distract herself from the pain she was currently experiencing, but her mind came up blank. Then she remembered when she first walked into the room. "Why did you call a meeting?"

Pein was silent for a moment and he continued to work. To someone else, it would seem like he was ignoring her, but Konan knew that he was one to reply slowly and, when he did answered, he continued to concentrate on his work of stitching up her arm: "I needed to check the currency of our plan."

"And?"

"We still need the Shichibi, Hatsuubi, and the Kyuubi," he responded quietly, as he placed the stitching tools away. "And then we can rule the world."

"You already rule the world," Konan murmured, as she grabbed Pein's face and gently forced him to look at her.

Pein didn't reply as he leaned in and pressed his lips to her's. All thoughts of her wound disappeared in that simple kiss and when the Akatsuki leader pulled back, he grabbed her hand and gently pulled her off the table.

Konan complied with his silent request and gasped slightly in shock when he picked her up bridal-style. Automatically, the konoichi wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her to his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Konan watched his expression, but he gave nothing away as he placed her gently on his bed and kissed her lips like before. After a moment, he pulled back and she gave him a curious look as he striped himself of his Akatsuki cloak and hitai-ate. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Pein said monotonously, as he laid down next to her, and wrapped his arms around her in a loving embrace.

She didn't ask any more questions after that. He was the leader of Akatsuki; if he didn't want to tell her something that was his choice.

Instead, she buried her head in his neck and took in his scent. He smelled like the after-scent of a rainstorm. A peaceful feeling came over Konan upon feeling his arms hold her and his scent surround her. They were in their sanctuary-their sanctum-and no one else was ever allowed there.

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**Sanctum** \SANK-tum\, _noun_;  
_plural_ **sanctums** or **sancta:**  
**1.** A sacred place.  
**2.** A place of retreat where one is free from intrusion.


End file.
